Shade Tree Wisdom 8/27/14

          On these warm summer days I have been thinking of the front porch.  I recall days when every house had a front porch equipped with several rockers and maybe even an old couch for a nice afternoon nap.

          Families used to sit on their front porch after dinner and sort of close out their day.  Maybe some neighbors walked by on their evening stroll, some just called greetings and continued, others might be asked to come visit a bit and that was an invitation to stop and sit for a while.
   
          They sort of kept track of what was going on, discussing a neighbor's fine garden and asking what they were doing to make it grow so bushy.  Exchanging recipes for putting up pickles and tomatoes and stuff.  And if there was need of some sort, making plans to help where needed, or wherever they could be of assistance.  I remember one summer cutting a widow’s grass because she had sprained her ankle. Neighborly stuff like that.

          Or who can forget those rainy summer afternoons on the front porch  playing monopoly and getting a monopoly on the railroads.

          Now that I think about it, the front porch was really a place where one could and did learn about life and how best to live it, wasn’t it?  And now that it is gone, we live lives that are rather isolated.  We have a patio, but fenced with an 8 foot fence to give us our treasured privacy.  So it is, I say this sadly, a loss.  I miss the front porch.

          Our Lord Jesus one time said to his disciples when they returned from a trip, “come ye aside and rest a while”.  And I am sure they used time of rest and privacy to discuss what had happened, and to make further plans for their future.

          But the rest, the time to lay back and relax, that time is essential.  And we would benefit if we would only take, or make, the time to fit it into our busy living.

GPD 8/27/14